Fauci Says CDC Hasn’t Been on Forefront of Pandemic Response
Jeannie Baumann, Bloomberg Law
The CDC hasn’t been at the forefront of the U.S.’s Covid-19 response due to a “variety of circumstances beyond their control,” Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, says at a symposium.
White House puts ‘politicals’ at CDC to try to control info
Jason Dearen et al., The Associated Press
The Trump White House has installed two political operatives at the nation’s top public health agency to try to control the information it releases about the coronavirus pandemic as the administration seeks to paint a positive outlook, sometimes at odds with the scientific evidence.
White House Agrees to Democrats’ National Coronavirus-Testing Strategy
Kate Davidson and Andrew Duehren, The Wall Street Journal
White House and Democratic negotiators agreed Thursday on including a national coronavirus-testing strategy in broader economic-relief legislation, as President Trump again signaled his desire for an aid package approaching $2 trillion despite opposition from Senate Republicans.
Pfizer, BioNTech Race to Meet Global Covid-19 Vaccine Needs
Bojan Pancevski and Jared S. Hopkins, The Wall Street Journal
The chief executive of the German company partnering with Pfizer Inc. in its coronavirus vaccine effort said the two are racing to increase production to meet the world’s needs, assuming the shot wins a regulatory green light.
Vast majority of air cargo companies are unprepared to transport Covid-19 vaccines
Ed Silverman, Stat News
As much of the world focuses on vaccine development to alleviate the pandemic, a new survey finds that just 28% of the air cargo companies that will play the highly crucial, behind-the-scenes role of transporting Covid-19 vaccines far and wide feel prepared for the job.
Medicare to Pay Labs More for Fast Turnaround on Covid-19 Tests
Tony Pugh, Bloomberg Law
Beginning next year, Medicare will pay $100 only to labs that process high throughput Covid-19 diagnostic tests within two days of specimen collection. Labs that take longer will be paid a rate of $75.
Defense Department study finds low risk of coronavirus infection through air on a packed airline flight
Ian Duncan, The Washington Post
A Defense Department study of the risk of catching the coronavirus on a packed commercial flight concluded that a person would have to be sitting next to an infectious passenger for at least 54 hours to receive a dangerous dose of the virus through the air.
Young and healthy? You may have to wait until 2022 for a covid-19 vaccine, experts warn.
Antonia Noori Farzan and Adam Taylor, The Washington Post
Young and healthy people should be prepared to wait their turn for immunization, experts warned this week. The World Health Organization’s chief scientist suggested that the delay could last well over a year for some among the young and healthy.
What Does ‘Negative’ on a Coronavirus Test Really Mean?
Katherine J. Wu, The New York Times
There exists no test that can definitively determine whether someone who caught the coronavirus is still contagious.
CDC denounces ‘unethical and illegal’ mandatory coronavirus testing in schools
Jennifer Scholtes, Politico
The CDC is condemning mandatory coronavirus testing in K-12 schools, updating guidance after New York City began random testing this week on thousands of students and educators.
Harris cancels travel after Biden campaign announces positive Covid tests
Caitlin Oprysko, Politico
Sen. Kamala Harris has canceled all campaign travel through this weekend “out of an abundance of caution” after a flight crew member and her communications director tested positive for coronavirus, the Biden campaign announced Thursday.
Christie Says He Was ‘Wrong’ Not to Wear Masks at White House
Maggie Haberman, The New York Times
Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor who was recently battling a coronavirus infection, said on Thursday that he was “wrong” not to wear a mask at an event honoring Judge Amy Coney Barrett and in his debate preparation sessions with President Trump, and that people should take the threat of the virus seriously.
Georgia gets Trump approval for Medicaid work requirements, partial expansion
Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill
The Trump administration has given Georgia the green light to partially expand Medicaid without federal support, and to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries.
President Trump’s Medicare drug discount cards face uncertain path
Amy Goldstein, The Washington Post
Three weeks after President Trump announced the government would send tens of millions of older Americans $200 to help pay for medicine, the election-season idea is mired in uncertainty over whether such drug discount cards are legal, proper or will ever exist.
Judges Signal Support for Hospital Pricing Disclosure Rule
Lydia Wheeler, Bloomberg Law
The nation’s second most powerful court seemed likely Thursday to uphold a rule that has become a cornerstone of the Trump administration’s health-care agenda and forces hospitals to disclose the prices they privately negotiate with insurance companies.
Most Home Health Aides ‘Can’t Afford Not to Work’ — Even When Lacking PPE
Eli Cahan, Kaiser Health News
During the pandemic, home health aides have buttressed the U.S. health care system by keeping the most vulnerable patients — seniors, the disabled, the infirm — out of hospitals.
Pandemic spikes in rural states, where small hospitals are already in financial distress
Lyle Muller, Reveal
Three out of every four of the nation’s critical access hospitals had negative operating incomes going into the pandemic.
Vertex Shares Plunge After Biotech Drops Closely Watched Drug Prospect
Joseph Walker, The Wall Street Journal
The flop of a promising drug from Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. led to a sharp drop in the company’s share price on Thursday as analysts questioned the biotech’s ability to replicate its success in cystic fibrosis and diversify its revenue.
Attorneys general urge the Justice Department to revise a settlement deal with Purdue
Ed Silverman, Stat News
More than two dozen state attorneys general are objecting to part of a possible deal between the federal government and Purdue Pharma that would resolve alleged criminal and civil charges over the company’s role in fueling the opioid crisis.
Goldman Sachs-backed 98point6 banks $118M to expand virtual primary care
Heather Landi, Fierce Healthcare
Major investors are bankrolling 98point6 with $118 million in a Series E funding round, betting big on the continued demand for virtual care.
Trump administration blocked Chinese acquisition of fertility clinic over medical data concerns
Eamon Javers, CNBC
The action to protect a U.S. fertility clinic reveals previously unknown concerns about Chinese access to American medical data stored in fertility clinics, which can include families’ most intimate biological and personal information.
Medicare Beneficiaries Need and Deserve Real Systemic Change to Lower Out-of-Pocket Costs
Dan Klein, Morning Consult
For years, America’s Medicare beneficiaries have been urging Congress to lower what they spend out-of-pocket on prescription medications at the pharmacy counter.
‘It’s not just about keeping people safe. It’s about meaningful lives’
Atul Gawande, Financial Times
The surgeon and ‘Being Mortal’ author on fixing US healthcare — and the battle to beat Covid-19.
COVID-19 Emergency Sick Leave Has Helped Flatten The Curve In The United States
Stefan Pichler et al., Health Affairs
The findings show that states where employees gained access to paid sick leave because of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act had a statistically significant decrease of approximately 400 fewer confirmed new cases per day, relative to the period before the law and to states that had already enacted sick pay mandates prior to the law’s passage.
Not just Obamacare: How Supreme Court’s conservative majority could remake American health care
Susannah Luthi, Politico
Across four days of hearings, senators reviewing Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court sparred extensively over Obamacare’s future.
